I once dated a photographer who introduced me to Bill Brandt, back when I took photography much more seriously than I do now. I used to think that only black and white was viable. I loved Man Ray, Bresson, Sally Mann. I would pour over their images for hours. Brandt said black and white was better, simply because it was better, and I agreed.

Nowadays, I see that colour has its place too and I prefer the blue of Ava’s eyes and the golden red of her hair to illuminate the picture – but there are days when I still long for the depth of mystery, the possibility of a world that only black and white allows. I’ve been playing around with that a little.

It seems as if Summer has only just remembered itself, and when another busy week, busy month rolls by, I am reminded that busy is normal now, busy is good. All the making and the doing leaves you tired though, and I am also reminded that rest too is important. Sometimes this comes in the middle of the day, curled up on your bed, watching the soft summer rain whilst your Little dozes happily beside you. You see the birds – so many birds! – in the trees. These are things I notice now. Birds, gardens, trees. Boundaries.

I spent part of yersterday, like many days of late, talking about, planning and organising a new project of mine and Emi’s, which launches today. (Hello, August 1st!) Today, we start a new blog together, Crafty by Nurture, which will be about the various ways we weave crafting into our parenting and our days, as well as an attempt to talk honestly about some of the joys and challenges of parenting in the way we try to parent (gently, mindfully etc)

We will be writing a lot about creating with children, including easy and more in-depth tutorials, recipes and reviews of books and toys we love, and we will have an ongoing series of interviews with other parents too. Since we launch during World Breastfeeding Week, it will be my task on Friday to write a little about my experiences of extended, or Sustained Breastfeeding.